Hi Andy >Ladies and Gentlemen, > > I've had the pleasure of reading along with all of you for a number >of months and believe now I can add something useful. Feel free to >toss a cabbage if you don't agree. :-)
We're fresh out of cabbages, but would you accept a bunch of roses? :-) > I'm making small batches (3gallon) of biodiesel as I learn the >processes involved. I'm slowly gearing up to produce at least the 20 >gallons per month I burn in my VW Passat TDI. I'd like very much, >tho, to begin a much larger processing operation and retail sale. > > The comment: There are a number of Volkswagen Diesel enthusiasts >that are buying commercially-produced biodiesel. These folks are the >type that go out of their way for the best fuel, the highest cetane, >etc. to burn in their 'babies'. Those that live near a production >facility are happy to pay a premium for a better, cleaner fuel, and >that it's green is all the better. All the other folks that want the >fuel can't afford to have quantities of it shipped across the country. > > An example: A Portland, Oregon manufacturer sells fuel for $1.50 >per gallon (US) in 55 gallon drums. It costs approximately $180 per >drum to ship to Michigan. Now the fuel costs $5.10 per gallon. >So...drive out and buy 10 drums and drive them back home. Just adding >the price of fuel to make the trip (in other words, free driver and no >'32 cents per mile' to cover expenses for the vehicle) brings the >price up to $2.50 per gallon. These rough numbers do not figure in >sales taxes, road use taxes, fees incurred shipping motor fuel across >state lines, etc. > > Distributed processing seems to be the way to go. Every town that >has a couple of fast food stores and a Krispy Creme donut shop could >support small-scale production and sell biodiesel in large lots for >fuel, small lots as a lubricity additive. > > It seems that, just as centralized computing went out the window in >the past, and commercial power has to move to decentralized production >in the present, that the small decentralized biodiesel processing >plant would be the most cost effective, commercially viable model. Those nice folks at the Carbohydrate Economy and the Institute of Local Self-Reliance would agree with you. So would Fritz Schumacher and the Appropriate Technology people, and not just about power production. So would I. Plus a few others on this list who're thinking (and doing) the same way. Keep going, don't stop now! Best wishes Keith Addison Journey to Forever Handmade Projects Tokyo http://journeytoforever.org/ > Bring on those cabbages! > Andy Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
